Delhi assembly polls likely to be held in February next year

The Election Commission of India (ECI) is toying with the idea of holding elections to 70 seat Delhi Assembly on February 13, according to authoritative sources in the poll panel. An announcement is likely to be made by January 10, 2020.

It has been learnt that the EC has held several meetings after Jharkhand poll results. It has already held two full bench meetings to discuss the dates and poll preparedness.

Sandeep Saxena, Deputy Election Commissioner in-charge of Delhi, has recommended two possible windows to hold polls. They are Thursday, February 13 and Friday, February 14, 2020. The commission generally avoids holding polls on Fridays since it is the day of prayer for Muslims.

A team of officials led by Saxena recently held a meeting with Delhi’s Chief Electoral Officer, Ranbir Singh and other members of his team. District election officers, special commissioner of police, deputy commissioner of police and nodal officers of various departments attended the meeting.

QR code reading for the first time

The Delhi CEO in a statement early this month said that “Delhi will be the first state in which a booth app will be used in every polling station. This technological innovation will make the poll process fast through the use of QR Code reading of voter slips of electors,” the statement claimed.

The app will give the status of electors waiting in the queue to the public, who can plan their visit to polling station according to their convenience. Booth app will also give voter turnout on a real-time basis on polling day, the EC statement said.

Political scenario

Poll campaigns have already begun in the Capital. Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicked off BJP’s campaign holding a rally on December 22, followed by the Congress. Though the Congress had enjoyed support in the past, at present it is without a leader.

The Aam Aadmi Party government in Delhi had on Tuesday came out with a report card of its achievements, claiming it has been able to fulfil the promises the party had made to the people during 2015 assembly elections. AAP volunteers will now take the report card to about 3.5 million households in a campaign that begins the day after Christmas.

In the report card, the AAP has shortlisted the Delhi government’s achievements under 10 heads that include education, health care, round-the-clock power supply at cheaper rates, increasing coverage of tap water network from 53% to 98% households, economic developments, women security, development in unauthorised colonies, public transport, doorstep delivery services and WiFi hotspots.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP is concerned about consolidation of Hindu votes after recent protests in Jamia Millia Islamia and Jawaharlal Nehru University. Meanwhile, the BJP is pinning its hopes on Modi’s charisma to turn the tide in its favour.